


Boyfriend Criteria

by AoiTsukikage



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: oh look it turned fluffy again
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-03
Updated: 2016-06-03
Packaged: 2018-07-11 23:22:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7074958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AoiTsukikage/pseuds/AoiTsukikage
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mika always knew he didn't fit into Arashi's world of models and fancy clothes, and getting to spend a day immersed in it only confirmed that.  Getting to spend a day learning more about Arashi, though?  Maybe that wasn't so bad.  AraMika.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Boyfriend Criteria

“I know it’s short notice but you’re the only one I can trust with this.”

“Wha…I mean, not that I’m doin’ anything this afternoon, but…”

“Thank you!  I’ll be there in an hour, okay?  Bye, Mika-chan!”

Mika blinked at his phone for a while, wondering what had just happened, but apparently he was going with Arashi to a fashion show.

Well, then.

000

“I’m _really_ really sorry but Izumi-chan bailed on me at the last minute and I’d asked Makoto-chan last week but he won’t go anywhere near a place where Izumi-chan is, of course, so I figured he wouldn’t be prepared and…”

“Naru-chan, it’s okay!” Mika reached out and clasped the taller boy’s shoulders.  “I said I wasn’t doin’ anythin’, right?  So ‘m all yours for the day.  I dunno what a guy that looks like me could do at a fashion show, but…”

“You’re beautiful, we’ve been over this,” Arashi waved his hand.  “No, I…we’re going to be late, damn it.  Come on, the car’s waiting,” he grabbed Mika’s hand and rushed out of the house, Mika managing to get the door closed behind him and just glad he’d had enough time to change into something a little nicer than his usual casual clothing.  It wasn’t fashion-show standard, of course, since he couldn’t afford that, but he hoped he wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb. 

Mika followed Arashi into the back of the car, something much nicer than he’d ever ridden in, and the driver took off immediately.  “Is this yours?”

“The car?  No, of course not,” Arashi chuckled, leaning back against the seat and absently fluffing his hair up with one hand.  “There are certain perks to being a model, and having a chauffeur to events is one of them.”

“Oh,” he folded his hands and awkwardly leaned back against the seat, already feeling out of place.  He didn’t belong in Arashi’s world on a normal basis, but even less so for something like this.  “So what d’you need me to do?  There’s gonna be a lot of guys there, right?” he asked quietly and Arashi blinked at him.

“You…oh, honey, I’m so sorry,” he reached for Mika’s hands and gripped them tightly.  “I’m the worst sort of inconsiderate idiot, I know you’re not comfortable around boys.”

“ ‘s okay,” he promised, even though it kind of really wasn’t, but…it was for Arashi.  He’d put up with being uncomfortable. 

“You don’t have to come with me,” Arashi said quietly.  “It’s not as if anything’s going to happen with all the people and cameras that will be there…”

Mika gave him a sickly smile because that was only making it worse for him, but Arashi had asked him for a reason and he wasn’t going to let his friend down. 

“I’ll be fine, Naru-chan,” he promised.  “Jes’ tell me what I’m goin’ for, okay?”

“Well,” Arashi settled himself against the seat, still holding one of Mika’s hands.  “Ever since we came to Yumenosaki, there’s been…people that have looked down on us.  Thinking that we’re selling out by trying to use idol activities to become more popular, or that we don’t deserve to be in the same modeling circles as the rest of our old colleagues since we’re not ‘dedicated’ to it or something.  And I’m, unfortunately, a rather easy target compared to Izumi-chan,” he smiled thinly.  “I know he can be rather…abrupt, but he still looks out for me, so without him there I’m afraid that I’ll have to endure a lot of ridicule.  I know it probably seems trivial to worry about, but…”

“No, Naru-chan, it doesn’t,” Mika shook his head and clasped Arashi’s hand tighter.  “I dunno how much good I’ll be, but I’m not gonna let anybody hurt you.”

“I know you won’t,” Arashi gave him a rather breathtaking smile and Mika felt a little awkward at the depth of trust that Arashi seemed to have in him.  “That’s why I asked you.”

“Okay,” Mika pursed his lips and nodded.  “I’ll do it.”

“Thank you,” Arashi looked relieved.  “I promise we won’t hang around too long after the show…oh, we’re here,” he glanced outside the window and squeezed Mika’s hand again, giving him a reassuring smile before opening the door.

Luckily there weren’t too many people outside and Arashi headed inside the building quickly, leaving Mika almost jogging to keep up with his long strides. 

Mika wasn’t able to register much other than a flurry of activity before he was being handed something and shoved in a different direction, the sounds and volume of people almost overwhelming. 

“In here,” Arashi held open the door to a changing room and Mika gratefully ducked inside, only realizing then that he was carrying clothing that probably cost more than he’d had in his entire life. 

“Uh…”

“Apparently they think you’re my assistant,” Arashi closed the door and leaned against it with a heavy sigh.  “Well, at least that was relatively painless,” he shrugged his jacket off and Mika realized that he was probably going to get undressed _right there_ and he wasn’t sure how to feel about that. 

“Uh…Naru-chan, should I leave?”

“Am I making you uncomfortable?” Arashi hung his coat on one of the hooks on the back of the door.  “I’m sorry, Mika-chan.  I’m so used to people here knowing the routines that I barely think about it anymore, but I can find somebody else to help me with the clothing.”

“No, ‘s fine,” Mika was still holding the outfits awkwardly.  “Jes’ tell me what you want me to do.”

“Okay,” he started undoing the buttons on his shirt and Mika blushed and looked away.  “There should be a shirt in there somewhere so if you want to pass it to me?”

“Ah…yep,” Mika sorted through the clothes and came up with what looked like a rather plain shirt, holding it out and still not looking. 

“Thanks,” Arashi didn’t comment on his shyness and Mika could hear clothes rustling for a few seconds.  “Pants?”

Again Mika just held out the article of clothing and waited, staring at the wall.  

“You can turn around now,” Arashi sounded amused and Mika did, his eyes roving unconsciously over Arashi’s body.  “And that should be the coat,” he took the last thing Mika was holding and shrugged into it, sighing because it seemed to be more strips of fabric than an actual jacket.  “These things get more ridiculous every season,” he looked over his shoulder at the back.  “Can you give me a hand here?”

“Oh!  Yeah,” Mika stared at the straps and buckles for a while before starting, a little afraid to even touch the fabric since his hands probably weren’t completely clean. 

The way the coat came together made sense, at least, and he was glad he had a little experience with sewing and fitting clothes because it was definitely needed here.  He finished up with the bottom of the coat around Arashi’s waist, although two longer tails hung down at the back and flared out almost to his knees. 

“Okay.  Yer good,” he stood up and Arashi turned back, glancing at a mirror hung on the wall and smiling. 

“Thank you.  Although I think Izumi-chan’s right that I need to cut back on the cake a bit,” he grimaced and sucked in a breath.

“I think yer beautiful,” Mika mumbled before he could stop himself, but the grin he got was worth saying something so embarrassing. 

“I know you do,” Arashi said quietly, and suddenly Mika found himself wrapped up in a hug that he couldn’t help but return.  “I need to go get some touch-ups done, but if you’d rather stay here, you can.  I’ll come back to change when I need to.”

“No, I…” Mika took a deep breath.  “I wanna see you.  Out there.  I mean, if that’s okay.”

“Of course!” Arashi sounded pleased.  “Come with me, then.  You can watch from backstage so you don’t need to worry about the audience,” he offered, and Mika felt a little overwhelmed at just how courteous Arashi was being.  “I have to warn you, though, that I might be…different, out there,” he held Mika even tighter and pressed his nose into the other boy’s hair. 

“I know.  Yer workin’ now, so it’s expected,” Mika wasn’t going to hold anything against Arashi, especially not over this. 

“Mm,” Arashi didn’t seem like he wanted to move and honestly, it was kind of nice to be hugged like this so Mika didn’t feel any need to rush him.  “I do have to go.”

“Yeah, y’said that,” Mika agreed absently, although he didn’t let go, either. 

“Narukami!”

“Shit,” Arashi hissed and loosened his grip a little, eyes darting around the room until he spotted a pair of boots in the corner and struggled to get them on.  “Coming!”

“I know you’re probably used to working on your own Idol-time but we’ve got a schedule here and I’d appreciate it if you respected that,” whoever was speaking sounded far from impressed and Arashi leveled a rather icy look toward the door as he stood up to his full height and straightened out his coat. 

“Come on,” he said quietly, laying a hand on Mika’s arm before opening the door and stepping out. 

“ _Finally._ We don’t supply the rooms so you can fool around, you know,” the speaker was a rather short teenager carrying a clipboard, and he gave Mika a look that had him feeling like he’d been caught doing something wrong.  “Is he coming with?”

“Is that a problem?” Arashi asked with a slow blink.  “He won’t be in the way.”

“Fine, fine,” the guy waved his hand.  “Whatever, just hurry up.”

“Mika,” Arashi said brusquely and Mika blinked, following him down the hall to what looked like a waiting area.  He shuffled off to the side while a couple of people rushed over to adjust Arashi’s clothes and fix his hair a little, Arashi taking it all in stride and looking remarkably bored with the whole affair.  “Now, was it necessary to disturb me?” he directed this to the first guy.  “I’m not an amateur, you know.”

“Well, you never know what you forget, being at that Idol-school,” he muttered, his eyes darting over to Mika again, and by this point Mika was just kind of wishing the floor would swallow him up.  “He doesn’t look like much of an assistant.”

“He’s adequate,” Arashi replied, and even though Mika knew he didn’t mean it, that he’d purposely left his usual ‘-chan’ off of Mika’s name earlier, it still hurt to hear him being so cold.  “I didn’t have much time to find somebody.”

“Whatever, as long as he can get you changed in time,” the guy grunted and flipped through the clipboard again.  “Thank you for coming prepared,” he finally muttered, like it was a chore to do so, and Arashi gave him a coolly level look before he rushed away to accost the next model. 

“Ten minutes to show!” A girl came in and called loudly enough to startle Mika, and he decided that he’d better sit down before he tripped or ran into somebody or did something else embarrassing. 

At least everybody was mostly ignoring him, and he saw a lot of other nondescript people milling around that were probably assistants of some sort.  He was so busy taking in his surroundings that when Arashi came to sit beside him, very carefully adjusting his coat so it wouldn’t get wrinkled, he almost jumped. 

“Not as glamorous as it looks, is it?” he asked quietly.  “I’m sorry about that, Mika-chan.”

“’s fine,” Mika promised, even though a part of him felt like it wasn’t.  “Don’t worry about it.”

“Okay,” Arashi looked worried and he let his arm dangle between the chairs, giving Mika a rather pointed look until the other boy got it and reached to grip his hand.  “I’ll make it up to you later, okay?  We’ll do something just for us.”

“Yeah?” Mika perked up at that, since spending time with Arashi was always a guaranteed way to bring his mood up.  “That sounds perfect.”

“Good,” Arashi didn’t let go of his hand until he had to go line up for the show, and when the clipboard guy came back and shoved another outfit at him he knew he wouldn’t have any time to relax until this was done. 

000

He _did_ get to see Arashi on the runway, somewhat, but since Arashi seemed to treat the world like his personal runway Mika realized he probably got to see it every day.  He was grateful overall that the collection they were showing seemed to be mostly outerwear which meant a lot of coat and boot changes with minimal other clothing removed, but it was amazing how exhausting helping somebody else get dressed could be. 

“Thank you again for helping me out today,” Arashi said as he changed back into his own clothes.  Mika wasn’t looking again, trying to think about anything but how _not_ clothed Arashi was, and when he felt a hand on his shoulder he nearly jumped again.  “Hey…Mika-chan?”

“Yeah?” he looked, and at least Arashi was wearing an undershirt now.  “What is it, Naru-chan?”

“Are you…are you just uncomfortable because of my body?” he asked softly and Mika suddenly felt horrible.

“No!  No, ‘s not that, I promise,” he shook his head.  Truthfully, he didn’t know _why_ he was so nervous around Arashi, other than that he still didn’t feel like he deserved to be around somebody so perfect when he was so flawed. 

And yes, Arashi was beautiful.  Probably the most beautiful person he’d ever seen, but there was no way Arashi would ever see him like that so it was better to just ignore those feelings. 

“Okay,” Arashi didn’t look convinced, but he finished getting dressed and held the door open for Mika to leave.  “Let’s just give the clothing back and then we can get out of here, okay?”

“Sounds good,” he trailed behind Arashi as he returned the clothes and was passed an envelope that Mika was going to assume was payment of some sort, and he noticed that his friend was much more congenial now than he had been prior to the show. 

They’d almost made it out to the lobby of the building when Mika heard somebody yell Arashi’s name, but from the way the other boy stiffened it wasn’t a good thing. 

“Hey, Narukami!”

“Damn it,” Arashi gritted his teeth and turned, the carefully constructed mask back in place now.  “Hello, gentlemen.  Long time no see.”

“Well, it wouldn’t be if you still did shows like the rest of us.”

There were three of them and they were all far taller than Mika, something that made him feel even more inadequate. 

“If you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere to be,” Arashi was obviously trying to end the conversation and Mika couldn’t blame him because he could feel the tension in the air. 

“Maybe you shouldn’t come around here anymore,” another one spoke up now.  “I mean, you’re obviously not taking it seriously if you’re bringing riff-raff like him around,” he waved his fingers at Mika and Arashi bristled, even though Mika had heard far worse so he could pretty much shrug it off.  “What is he, anyway?  Your _boyfriend?”_

“So what if I am?” Mika took a step so he was in front of Arashi, feeling like his entire body was trembling, but all he could process was that somebody was threatening his friend and that wasn’t okay.  “At least he’s not jes’ beautiful on the outside, which is more than I c’n say for alla you,” he tried to stand up straight, reaching for Arashi’s hand and gripping it tightly.  “C’mon.”

He didn’t hear if the other boys said anything else because the roaring in his ears was so loud, but when he came back to himself again he was outside and Arashi was tugging at his hand to get him to stop.

“ –ka-chan…Mika-chan, it’s okay!” he called, Mika slowing down but not letting Arashi’s hand go.  “Hey, you didn’t have to do that.”

“ ‘course I did.  Nobody’s gonna hurt you when I’m around, I told y’ that,” he said firmly, although now that the adrenaline was wearing off he was feeling shaky again. 

“Let’s go home,” Arashi suggested.  “My place?”

“Okay,” Mika wasn’t even sure how he made it back to the venue and into the waiting car, but he leaned his head against the back of the seat and took a deep breath, more glad than he could say that Arashi could sense he needed to get away from people for a while. 

“I’m so sorry about today,” Arashi murmured, sliding close to him on the seat so they were pressed together.  “I feel horrible for making you go through that.”

Mika made a vague sound of acknowledgment, leaning his head on Arashi’s shoulder and shivering.  

“Oh, honey,” Arashi held him tighter.  “I should never have asked you.”

“No, ‘s fine,” Mika said after a few seconds.  “ ‘m glad I could see your world for a day, even if I really don’t belong there.”

“Sometimes I wonder if I even do,” Arashi sighed.  “I know I’m good at it, but the whole…environment forces me to be somebody I’m not.”

“Yer still you, Naru-chan,” Mika assured him.  “And I…I love you,” he swallowed, wondering if that was going too far.

“I love you, too,” Arashi murmured into his hair.  “I just want to spend time with you right now.”

“Yeah.  That’d be nice,” Mika let his eyes slide closed and almost fell asleep right there, even with the car jostling him around.  He looked up when they stopped, a little surprised to see that they weren’t at Arashi’s house. 

“Hey.  Are you okay to make a little detour?  I did a photoshoot here once and it’s really quiet during the day, but if you want to go straight to my house, I’m fine with that,” Arashi murmured, and honestly Mika just kind of wanted to curl up with him and fall asleep but as long as it wasn’t crowded he figured he’d be fine. 

“Where are we?”

“Just a little park that nobody seems to know about,” Arashi reached over him to open the door, telling the driver they’d be back right away. 

“Okay,” he slid out of the car, letting Arashi take his hand and lead him down a tree-lined path to a small, tranquil lake surrounded by benches and flowering shrubs.  It was completely silent except for the quiet splashing of water where a pair of ducks were swimming, and Mika immediately felt at ease.  “I didn’t even know this place was here,” he was almost whispering but it just felt… _wrong_ to speak any louder. 

“There’s a fountain in the lake,” Arashi mentioned, letting go of Mika’s hand so he could go to sit on one of the benches.  “At night, when it’s all lit up, it’s even more magical.”

“I think it’s pretty magical already,” Mika took a deep breath and went to sit beside his friend.  “Thank you for thinkin’ to bring me here.  ‘s nice.”

“We could both use a break after today,” Arashi chuckled, drawing one knee up to his chest and looking strangely contemplative.  “Mika-chan…what you said back there, to those guys, about being my…” he stopped and shook his head.  “Never mind.”

“Wh- oh!” Mika laughed far too loudly and one of the ducks gave an offended little quack.  “Ah, yeah, I was…”

“So you didn’t mean it,” Arashi cut him off.  “Well, I was expecting that, I just thought I’d ask,” he gave Mika a smile that didn’t come close to reaching his eyes. 

“No, Naru-chan that’s not…did you _want_ me to mean it?” he blinked, because Arashi couldn’t have really been implying…no.  Of course not.  Somebody like him would never have a chance with somebody like Arashi, after all. 

“Well, I can’t say that the thought hasn’t crossed my mind,” Arashi sighed and stared at the lake.  “You’re not like anybody I’ve ever met, Mika-chan.  When I’m with you I feel like I can be myself and you’d never judge me for it, and the way you look at me…I’ve never denied being vain, but you seem to think I’m something special and there’s part of me that selfishly wants more of it.”

“Y’ are special,” Mika shrugged.  “I mean, compared t’ me,” he added, looking down at his knees.  “Sometimes I feel like we’re not really livin’ in the same world, y’know?  That I’m lucky just t’ get t’ be around you for a little while.”

“I think I’m the lucky one,” Arashi murmured, looking at Mika until the other boy finally met his eyes.  He knew that Arashi wasn’t lying, and while a big part of him still couldn’t accept that, he had to at least acknowledge it.  “And I’d be the luckiest girl in the world to have a boyfriend like you.”

“Naru-chan…” he stopped, trying to brush off the overwhelming feeling of guilt that was making it hard to even _breathe._

“Hey,” Arashi slid a little closer.  “You can say no.  I’m not going to be offended.”

“ ‘s not that, I’m jes…not sure why you’d even want somebody like me t’ be your boyfriend,” he admitted, and Arashi blinked. 

“Somebody who’s sweet and loyal and that I can always depend on to lift me up when I’m having a bad day?”

“Uh…” Mika blushed, because he maybe _was_ all of those things, and if that was what Arashi needed…  “I guess I c’n be that.”

“Then you’ve already met my boyfriend-criteria,” Arashi winked.  “That you’re gorgeous on top of all that is just a plus.”

“Naru-chan!” he whined, even more embarrassed now.  “Don’t say things like that!”

“I’m going to keep saying it until you can admit it’s true,” Arashi promised, reaching to gently hold Mika’s chin with one hand and keeping their eyes locked.  “So?  Wanna be my boyfriend?”

“Yeah,” Mika didn’t hesitate now, and when Arashi leaned closer, giving him every opportunity to move away, he didn’t even consider it. 

Maybe there wasn’t a choir of angels or anything, and maybe he was a little too nervous and his heart was beating a little too quickly for it to be _magical,_ but it was a pretty perfect first kiss nonetheless. 

“So,” Arashi looked just as flustered as he felt and somehow that made everything a little more okay.  “What do you say to getting some food, going back to my place, and doing nothing productive for the rest of the evening?  My treat,” he grinned and touched the pocket he’d put the envelope in before. 

“Sounds like a perfect first date t’ me,” he finally replied, his voice squeaking a little, but the brilliant smile Arashi gave him at the words made him forget about how awkward he was being. 

They were good for each other.  He’d always known it, probably, but he needed to start looking at Arashi as his equal and not this…unattainable perfect being on a pedestal that Mika could never hope to reach. 

“Stop thinking so hard, Mika-chan,” Arashi took his hand and pulled him to his feet.  “We’re still best friends, right?  We just get to kiss now,” he caught Mika in a hug and spun him around and Mika squawked, clinging to Arashi and protesting rather weakly.  “So is this the real reason you were shy back there?  Because you liked me?” he asked. 

“Yeah.  Didn’t think you’d feel the same,” he admitted, hearing Arashi’s bright laughter in response.

“Oh, you silly boy,” Arashi kissed him again, holding him close, and he quickly decided that ‘best friends who got to kiss’ sounded just fine to him. 

000

He fell asleep on Arashi’s couch that night, full and warm and wrapped in a blanket with Arashi curled around from behind and a tiny cat purring happily against his stomach. 

He was happy, he realized in his last few seconds of coherent thought before sleep claimed him, and he had a feeling that, as long as Arashi was in his life, that was never going to change. 

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. I'm just going to accept that anytime I write these two it's going to devolve into sappy fluff because they are just so Pure and Good together that I can't help it. 
> 
> 2\. As always, if you want to find me elsewhere I'm on both [twitter](http://twitter.com/_mikarashis) and [tumblr](http://mikarashis.tumblr.com) now, and I always welcome feedback :)


End file.
